Health & Wellness News

The specialty flight company MedEscort says it has "repatriated" over 6,000 patients to more than 100 countries. Critics say they're profiting from "medical deportations." The company challenges the phrase, and denies pressuring the family.

Patient advocates protested Wednesday outside Lehigh Valley Health Network's Cedar Crest Campus.

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The Lehigh Valley will host a marathon for the first time since the pandemic started. Registration will open this month for the St. Luke’s D&L RaceFest.

Lehigh Valley Health Network was victimized in a cybersecurity attack last month. The network said it refused to pay a ransom. Now, patient information and photos have been posted on the dark web, according to LVHN.

Today, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced $52.5 million in grants intended to prevent suicide. Named for Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox, the suicide prevention grant program is now in its second year. Its goal is to fund community-based organizations that work with veterans and their families. Last year, the VA gave awards to three groups in Pennsylvania, including more than $530,000 to St. Luke’s Penn Foundation in Carbon County. Eighty recipients won awards nationwide in the program’s first year. Grant applications are due by May 19 with awards expected to be announced in September. Selected organizations will receive funding for 2024. More information on how to apply is available at mentalhealth.va.gov.

Drug shortages seem to be a big issue in the wake of the pandemic. Children's pain medication and other prescriptions have been hard to get in the past few months because of supply chain issues.

The proposed legislation, Senate Bill 8, would remove out-of-pocket costs and require 100% coverage for preventative breast cancer screenings and genetic testing. Proponents say it would be the first of its kind in the nation.

Starting Monday, March 6, Lehigh Valley Health Network will no longer require coronavirus face masks for the public inside hospitals and health care facilities in areas not associated with patient care.

Musician James Casey talks to a Lehigh Valley company about his fight with colon cancer. He is using his platform to tell others about the importance of getting screened.

Toastique, whose founder is a Lehigh Valley native, is finally coming to Bethlehem.

Many school nurses say the pandemic made them feel burned out, stressed out, and exhausted. Now, some are working to catch up on work that didn't get done during that time.

With thousands of kids home from school because of closures in the Philadelphia area, parents are worried about when it’s time to go back.

Pennsylvania now has 10 presumed cases of the coronavirus, mostly in the Philadelphia area.

At the Shamrock Reins farm in Bucks County, WLVR’s K.C. Lopez reports organizers are working on prevention -- using equine therapy.

Pennsylvania now has seven presumed cases of the coronavirus, mostly in the Philadelphia area. That’s up from two cases on Friday.

Bucks County tests come back negative for the coronavirus in case of people exposed at at private gathering.

New CDC guidelines say employees shouldn’t go to work if they’re feeling sick to help limit the spread of the coronavirus.

Gov. Tom Wolf held a press conference Friday morning and confirmed the first two presumptive positive cases of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Pennsylvania.

Bethlehem-based Lehigh University has cancelled its study-abroad program in Italy.

Pennsylvania is now able to test for coronavirus. The health department announced yesterday [Tuesday] that samples will be processed by a state lab in Exton.

Heath officials across the greater Lehigh Valley are keeping an eye on recent international travelers to countries with coronavirus outbreaks. 

Local Lehigh Valley colleges are confronting the risk of infection for students studying overseas and traveling for spring break.

The Pennsylvania Health Department may start conducting its own lab tests for the coronavirus later this week. Currently the CDC is handling all testing for the virus.